Glass forming machine



May 12, 1942. s B 2,282,449

GLASSFORMING MACHINE F'ile'd Feb. 8, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet .i

Fig.1; d 5

May 12, 1942. s. D. BER:

' GLASS FORMING MACHINE Filed Feb. 8, 1940- 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 12, 1942.

s. D. BERT GLASS FORMING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 8, 1940 May '12, 1942. s, D, BERT 2,282,449

GLAS S FORMING MACHINE Filed Feb. 8, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 gill/I N I w May 12, 1942.,

s. D. BERT 2,282,449

GLAS S FORMING MACHINE Filed Feb. 8, 1940 6' Sheets-Sheet 5 E I l i I LUJ/ LL .U 60

,May 12,1942.

SQ D; BERT GLASS FORMING MACHINE Filed Feb. 8, 1940 6 sheehs sheet 6 2 den of Fig. 13 are mounted.

Patented May 12, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT' OFFICE cuss FORMING MACHINE 7 Samuel D. Bert, Washington, Pat,- assignor of one-third to Maurice A. Yorkin and one-third to James D..Martin, both of Washington, Pa. Application February a, 1940, Serial No. 317,843

One object of my invention is to provide a glass-forming machine of such form that it can be continuously operated, without pauses forj mold charging and pressingoperations. Another object of my invention is to provide- A further object of my invention is to provide an improved manner of operating hinged mold sections to open and close the same, whereby they may be very tightly closed even-though there is looseness in their hinges through wear or-otherwise.

While the invention is hereinafter described as employed in the making of pressed glassware,

it will be understood that-it may be useful also in giving preliminary shape 'to parisons that may later be completed on a blowing machine.

Figurel is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the machine, taken on the line I-I of Fig. 2;Fig. 2 is a planrview of the structure of Fig. 1, with certain of. the parts omitted, showing the positions occupied by various of the mold members and their operating links, at different points in their path of travel; Fig. 3 is a face view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the molds of Fig. 1 and certain of itsvoperafing members; Fig.4isaplanviewofthestructureofFig.3; Fig. 5 is an elevational view, partly in section, showing one of the molds of Fig. 1 and its presing plunger, with means for plunger, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing certain of the parts -ofFig.5inadifierentposition,withtheplunger raised out of the mold and swung aside to permit the introduction of a glass chargeinto the mold; Fig. '7 is a view showing a portion of the fluid pressure controlapparatus and system r controlling the supply of fluid presure to plunger-operating piston-of Pig. 5; Figs. 8 and 9 showmodificationsofthestructureoffigaS and6;Fig.10showsamodificationofthesh:uctureoffig.8;l-'ig.l1isafaceviewofaportion of the apparatus ofliig. 10; Fig. 12'is anelevational view showing a modification of the mold-operating amaratus of Fig; 4? Fig. 13. is a. planyiew thereof, and 14 and L5 are sectional views and elevational and plan showing the manner in which the mold-operating cylin- Theapparatuseomprisesabase 10 Claims. 101. 49-4) which is rigidly secured a central stationary column II. A rotatable column l2 has an internal flange or rib l3 that is supported upon an anti-friction bearing It. At its upper end the column I! has an internal rib I! that serves as a bearing 'member for engagement with the column II. The column is octagonal on its peripheral surface, as shown in-Fig. 2, and a presser unit is connected to each of the octagonal surfaces, as hereinafter explained. The column is driven from a suitable source of power through a, worm gear unit It, a pinion l1 and a" ring gear I 8 that isrigidly connected to the lower end of the column l2.

A mold-carrying, arm or wing I9 is securedto each octagonal face of the column l2, such -22. An annular plate or mold table a is se-- cured to the members "I9 and a. The molds are formed in two sections that are hinged together, so that the mold halves can be opened and closed by linkage mechanism to'be hereinafter described.

The mold halves are pivotally connected to the ledges 2|, as indicated at 23, and each mold in turn pivotally connected to a link 26, whose plate I. a s.

outer end is pivotally connected througha pin zltoapairofbracketarmslt'thatarecarried operating said 35bythefaceplate2la. Thelinks 25and2ithus form-a toggle for use'inopening and closing the'molds. The pin 21 has loosefit with the linklibutasnugfltwiththearmsllsothat thelinkcanheadjustedlongitudinally of itself,

withrespecttothepivotpinandtheannslfl,

toinsureproper snug closing ofthemold halves (see Fig.4). Abearingblock z iislooselypomtimedbetweeneachpairofarmszlandisheld infirmmgagementwiththepinz'lbyawedge blockitwhichisadiustedlongitudinallyofitfiuponascrewstudilthatiscaniedbythe will be seen tint if the moldhalvsarenot snnglychsedbythemechanismhereinafterde- ,bytheturningofapriirofnuisil. It

I fine the glass within the :mold. Springs stantly rotated and the molds 22 are periodically opened and closed by means of mechanism which will now be described. This mechanism comprises a pair of vertical shafts 33 for each of the molds, the shafts being joumalled at their upper and lower ends in bearings 34 and 35 that are carried by the arms or wings IS, the upper bearings 34 being mounted on plates 340. that are secured to the upper edges of the wings IS, the

' shafts extending down opposite sides of each wing 19.

A collar 36 is secured tothe 'column 12 so as to turn therewith and is provided with a series of radial slots 31 that serve as guide ways for rack bars 38. A collar 39 is keyed to the stationary column I l and has a camming slot for receiving camming lugs or rollers 40 which are carried by the rack bars 38, sothat as the column i2 is rotated, these rack bars will be shifted radially. The rack bars near their outer ends engage with gear pinions 4| that are secured to the upper ends of the shafts 33, so that said shafts will be oscillated through radial shifting of the rack bars 38. At their lower ends the shafts 33 carry crank arms 42 that have pivotal connection at 43 with links 44, the links 44 being connected to pivot pins 45 that also connect the toggle links and 2E.

It will be seen that as the mold-carrying column i 2 rotates, the rack bars will be oscillated to open and close the molds, as indicated in Fig.

2. Thus, when a rackbar has been'drawn by the cam slot to its innermost position, the mold be drawn inwardly to close the mold and make it ready to receive another charge of glass.

A cylinder 41 and a piston 48 for operating a pressing plunger 49 that shapes the glass within the mold, are mounted against each face plate 20a,-near the upper end of the plate, in vertical alignment'with themold carried at the lower .end of such plate. A metal tube 50 extends through each cylinder and is rigidly secured to the piston 48 and serves as a piston rod. The tube has a renewable liner 5! that is flared at its upper end to receive charges of glass from a furnace indicated diagrammatically at 52, the charges of glass being sheared by knives indicated at 53, in a manner well known-in the art, the knives being operated each time a charging tube 50-5| reaches charging position. The charge of glass falls through the tube and thence into the mold. the pressing plunger 49 having first been swung to one side as hereinafter explained. a

The lower end of the tube 50 has secured thereto a bracket member 54 (Figs. 5 and 6) to which is pivotally connected a plate 53 which carries hanger bolts 59 and to which is secured the upper end of the plunger 49. A plate- 50 is loosely supported on the nuts at the lower ends of the bolts 59 and carries a neck rin'g member II that seats within the upper recessed end of the mold 22, during a pressing operation, to coninterposed between the plate 60 and the plate 58, so that the neck ring 6| can yield upwardly slightly during a pressing operation, in case there is a surplus of glass in the mold. I

After the mold and its filling tube passes the charging station, air pressure is admitted to the upper sidev of the piston 48 as hereinafter explained, to force downwardly the piston and the piston rod 50, together with the bracket 54 and the parts carried thereby, so that the plunger 49 will enter the mold and shape the glasstherein. Continued travel of the table will cause relief of the pressure from the upper side of the piston and cause air pressure to be admitted to the underside thereof to lift the plunger out of the mold. During this upward movement of the bracket, the plunger ahd its supporting plate 58 are swung away from the lower end of the tube 50, so that another charge of glass can be introduced into the mold when the charging station is reached. The swinging of the plunger to and from its pressing position is effected by means of a .camslot 64 (Figs. 5 and 6) formed in the outer surface of the face plate 200.. The plate 58 carries a roller 55 that rides in the cam slot, so that when the'bracket 54 .is raised frompressing position by the piston 48, the hinged plate 58 that carries the plunger will be tilted sidewise to the position shown in Fig. 6, as the cam roller 65 passes from the vertical portion of the slot 4 to the inclined portion thereof. In this raised and tilted position of the plate 58, a

charge of glass can pass through the tube 50 into the mold 22.- Upon downward movement of the piston and the bracket 54, the plunger-carrying plate 58 will of course also be moved downwardly and the roller 85 moved from the inclined portion of the slot to the vertical portion thereof, thus bringing the plunger into vertical position beneath the piston rod 50, so that continued downward movement of th piston will move the plunger into the mold. A spring-pressed latch 61 is carried by the bracket 54 for releasably holding the plunger and its associated parts snugly against the bracket, and to maintain it against shifting or vibration during actual pressing of the glass. The latching surfaces of the plate 58 with the spring 61 are inclined somewhat so that the plate 58 will automatically be disengaged from the spring clip when the cam roller reaches the upper portion of'the slot 54.

Air pressure for operating the pressing plungeris supplied from a suitable source through a pipe 10 that extends into the stationary column II and through a side wall-of the column. A header ring H is loosely supported on the column H,

' between collars 12 that are fixedly secured to the column H, said header ring having an annular slot or chamber and having an-outlet pipe j 13 leading to each valve casing 14. A valve casing I4 is provided for each pressing unit and has connection therewith through pipes 15 and 15 that lead to the upper andlower ends of the cylinder 41 (Fig. 1). These pipe connections cause the header ring "II to be rotated with the column [2. when a valve 11 within the casing 14 is in the position shown in Fig. '1, live air from the pipe I3 will be supplied through-the pipe 16 to the underside of the piston 48, and when the valve 11 is in its opposite position within'the casing 14, live air will now from the-pipe ll through 42 are effected through the pipe I4 and an exhaust port 18. Anexhaust pipe 18 is.provided for exhausting air from the upper side of the piston 48 when the piston is moving upwardly through the influence of pressure from the pipe 18.

Shifting of the valve 11 to change the portopenings is effected by pressure admitted from piston 82 provided with apiston rod 88 that is connected to an arm 84, which is slidably supported on the bracket 88. The arm 84 is forked at its lower end for engagement with an up-.

standing lug on a plate 88 that corresponds to the plate 88. This plate 85 is slidablysupported upon a slideway 88-that is carricdby a bracket that are brought into engagement with camming lugs 88 and 81 respectively, that are mounted upon a stationary bracket 88. When the valve stems engage these camming lugs, the valves are moved from their seats to permit exhaust of air from the lower ends of the pipes 82 and 83 and consequently from the .ends of the valve casing 14. The camming lugs or tracks 88 and 81 are positioned at uch points that after a mold has received a c rge of glass, continued movement of the mold carrier will temporarily bring the valve 85 into contact with a raised portionof the cam 81 to effect opening of the valve and bleeding of pressure through the pipe 83, so that pressure from the pipe 88 acting upon the other end of the valve 11 will shift said valve so as to bring the pipe 13 into communication with the valve port that leads to the pipe 15, and to thereby also bring the pipe 18 into communication with the port leading to the exhaust port 18. The piston 48 will thereupon be moved downwardly and a pressing operation performed. Continued movement of the mold carrier after the pressing operation will carry the valve 85 out of contact with the camming lug 81, permitting the valve to close," and will bring the valve 84 into engagement with the camming lug 88, thereby effecting opening of the valve 84 and permitting exhaust through the pipe 82. Exhaust through the pipe 83 having been closed, the air pressure from the pipe 8| will thereupon shift the valve 11 to the position shown in Fig. 7, whereupon air from the pipe 13 will how to the pipe 16 and the underside of the piston 48, to

raise the piston; exhaust from the upper side of the piston being through pipe 15, past the valve 11 and out the exhaust port 18. Further movement of the mold carrier will carry the valve 84 A out of engagement with the camming lug 88 and permit the valve 84 to close, the valves 84 and 85 then remaining closed until the mold carrier reaches a point at which it is desired to operate the. piston 48, whereupon the" valve 85 will be opened by the camming lug 81, to repeat the se quence of operations above described.

It will be understood, that the valves 84 and 85 are held open'only. a short time by the cammember. 81 that corresponds to the bracketv member 84 and is secured to the lower end of the piston 88. Whenfluid pressureis admitted to the outer end of the cylinder 8| through a pipe 88, the piston 82 is moved inwardly to .pull back the 'member 88 together with the hanger bolts 82 and the plunger 48, so as to leave a clear space beneath the feed tube or piston 88 to permit a charge of glass to fall into the mold. Pressure is then admitted to the inner end of .the cylinder 8| through a pipe '88 to shift the plunger back to the position shown in Fig. 8,

whereupon downward movement of the piston 48 will move the member 81, the plunger 48 and the parts associated therewith downwardly, to project the plunger into the 'mold.

When the piston 48 is again raised, the upstanding lug on the member 85 will again enter the forked end of the member 84.

It will be understood that various means well known in .the glass-forming machine art can be provided for admitting fluid pressure through the pipes 88 and 88 to the ends of the cylinder 8|, in timed relation'to movement of the mold carrier. of fiuid pressure tothe cylinder 8| can be effected in substantially the same manner as in the that some well known feeder mechanism will be provided for supplying'the charges of glass from ming lugs 88 and 81, in order to avoid unnecesj sary waste of air pressure. Each valve needs to be open only long enough to permit unbalancing of pressures at the ends of the valve 11 for the short time required to efie'ct shifting of said valve. I

The brackets 88 also carry rollers 88 which will be used to brace and support the tablepart icularly when heavy pressing operations are em'' ployed. Y

In Fig. 8 I show a modification of the apparatus of Fig-8, for moving the plunger 48 away from beneath the feed tube 58. In this arrange ment a bracket- 88 is secured to the cylinder 41 and carries a cylinder 8|. The cylinder has a the furnace 52 and for operating the shears 53 each time that a presser unit reaches feeding position.

Referring now to Fig. 9, I show a springpressed guide plate |8l backed by springs I82, for

maintaining the plunger-carrying plate 58 snugly against the bracket 54 and to prevent vibration of the plate and the plunger during pressing operations, and rendering unnecessary the use of the latch 61 of Fig. 6. The plate |8| constitutes alignment with the hollowpiston rod 58. The

bleed pipe 83 is deflected sidewise for connections with a port or passageway I84 in the bracket 88,

and with a passageway 185 in the end plate I88 of the cylinder 8|. A port I81 ,is provided through the piston rod 83 and will be in registry with'the pipe 83. and the port i when the plunger 48 is in vertical alignment with the piston rod 58, so that when the bleed valve 85 is opened, the valve 11 willbe shifted to a position where fluid pressure will flow from the pipe 13 through pipe 15 to the.upper side of the pisany reason the piston 82 is not moved far enough to the left to bring the plunger 48 into alignment with the piston" rod 58, air cannot flow through the pipe 83 to the bleed valve .85 and cause- For example, the supply and control quently the 'piston'48 will remain in its uppermost position. i i

Downward movement of the piston 48 can be manually controlled by a valve I08 (Figs. 1 and 10) provided in' the line 83. If for some reason it is desired to throw one of the pressing units out of-operation, the valve I08 of that unit will be closed to preventbleeding'through the pipe 83, thereby causing the valve 11 to remain in the position shown in Fig. 7, at which position fluid pressure will flow only to the underside of the piston 48; the piston 48, with the plunger, being thereby maintained in raised position.

In Figs. 10 and 11 a guide tube I09 is connected to the slide plate 95 and the plate 60 by yokes I I and I I I respectively, the tube I09 being snugly held by the yoke H0 and slidably engaging the yoke III. When the plunger-carrying plate 95 is withdrawn laterally, to move the plunger 49 from beneath the tubular piston rod 50, preparatory to the feeding of a charge of glass into the mold 22, the guide tube I09 will be in verticallyaligned position with the tube 50 and serve to direct the charges of glass into the mold. Upon forward movement of the piston rod 93 to brin the plunger into pressing position, the tube I09 will of course be carried away from beneath the tube 50. 1

In Figs. 12 to 15 I show a manner in which the toggle mechanism for opening and closing the molds is pneumatically operated instead ofbeing operated by the use of cams and rack bars as in Figs. 1 to 4. In this arrangement, air under pressure from the header ring II is supplied through one of the pipes I3 and through a pipe I I3, to a header pipe H4. Rotary valves I I have communication with the annular header pipe I It, a valve II5 being provided for each mold. The

toggle links 25 and-26 areoperated through reciprocation of the piston rods II6 to. open and close the molds. The piston rods are provided with pistons I I! that are contained within cylinders II8.

When the valve I I5 is in the position shown in Fig. 13, air will flow through its port H0 and a pipe I20 to the rear ends of the cylinders H8, thus forcing the pistons II'I forwardly and straightening the toggle links 25-26 to close the mold sections. Exhaust from the front sides of thepiston takes place through a pipe I2I and valve port I22; When the valve H5 is in its opposite position, the port H9 will be brought into registry with the line H4 and the pipe I2I, to

position the mold 22 is closed. A camming rail I2! is positioned on the brackets 88 and extends beneath the zone in which the molds are to be in their opened positions (Fig. 2) and it will be engaged by the arm I25, so as to cause the valve I I5 to be rotated into position that fluid pressure will flow through the port II9 to the front sides of the pistons I IT, to efiect opening of the molds.

-After the ware has been removed from' a mold,

the arm I25 willpass out of engagement with the cam rail I21, thus allowing the spring I26 to rerier, a vertically-disposed presser turn the valve to its former position and to efiect' closing'of the molds preparatory to receiving another charge of glass.

In order to prevent binding of the pistons and piston rods in their respective cylinders, because of the slight arcuate movement of the piston rods, which occurs through operation of the toggle mechanisms, I secure each cylinder to a pipes I20 and I2I are of rubberhose, so that they will flex slightly, to permit of said-movement.

While I have more particularly described ap-' 'paratus for performing pressing operations on glass, it will be understood that the pressing units can be incorporated in a machine that contains also blow heads for expanding charges of glass in molds, after they have'been preliminarily shaped through a pressing operation, such machines commonly being known as press-and-blow'machines, and widely used in the glass industry. Also, it will be understood that the pressing units can be used with what are known as block molds, as distinguished from two-part molds, in which casethe opening and closing apparatus for the molds would not be required, and an ejector rod I34 (Fig.- 1) is provided for pushing the finished ware up'so that it can conveniently be 1. A glass-forming machine comprising a ro- I tatable mold carrier, molds mounted on said carcylinder mounted on the carrier above each mold, a piston in the cylinder, a tubular piston rod extending through the cylinder and connected to the piston, a bracket carried by the lower end of the tubular rod, a pressing plunger carried by said bracket and normally in axial alignment with the piston rod, means for admitting pressure to the ends of the cylinder to eifect raising and lowering movement of the piston rod and said plunger to perform pressing operations in a mold, and means for moving the plunger laterally out of alignment with the lower end of the piston rod when the plunger has been lifted from the mold, to permit charges of glass to be introduced into the mold through the said rod 2. Glass-forming apparatus comprising a vertically-disposed presser cylinder, a piston in the cylinder, a tubular piston rod extending through the cylinder and connected to the piston, a bracket carried by the lower end of. the tubular rod, a presser plunger carried by said bracket. a mold positioned beneath the plunger, means for admitting fluid pressure to the ends of the cylinder, toeffect vertical movements of the plunger, to perform pressing operations in the mold, and means for shifting the plunger la'terally'when it has been lifted from the mold,-to permit charges of glass to be dropped through the piston rod into the mold. v r

3. A glass-forming machine comprising a rog for lowering and raising from themold, means automatically operated in drawn from the mold, and means on the carrier,

in axially-fixed alignment with the mold, for directing charges of glass into the mold when the plunger is out of axial alignment with the mold. 4. A glass-formingmachine comprising a rotatable carrier, molds on said carrier, a vertically-extending feed tube on the'carrier and disposed in axially-fixed alignment with the mold,

a pressing plunger on the carrier, below the feed tube, and normally. in axial alignment with the mold and said tube, .a 'vertically reciprocable member for raising and lowering the plunger, and means for shifting the said plunger out of said axial alignment, when it is withdrawn from the mold, whereby a'charge of glass may be introduced through said tube, into the mold.

5. A glass-forming machine comprising a retatable carrier, molds on said carrier, a glassposed in axial alignment" with the mold, a pressing plunger below the feed tube and normally in.

axial alignment with the mold, .a vertically-re? ciprocable member for-raising and lowering the plunger, means for shifting the said plunger out of said axial alignment, when it is withdrawn from the mold, a guide tube, and means for shifting said guide tube into position between the feed tube and the mold, upon shifting of the plunger out of said axial alignment, whereby charges of I glass may be introduced. through said tubes into the mold. e

8. A glass-forming machine comprising a rotatable carrier, molds onsaid carrier, 9. glasspressing plunger positioned above'each mold and movable with the carrier, the plunger being normally in axial alignment with the mold, means for lowering and raising the plunger into and. from the mold, means for moving the plunger out of axial alignment with the mold, when theplunger is withdrawn from the mold, and means controlled bythe last-named means for moving pressing plunger positioned, above each mold and movable with the carrier, the plunger being normally in axial alignment with the mold, a device the plunger into and timed relation to vertical movements of the plunger, for moving it into and out of axial align: ment with the mold, and into operative and inoperative relationship with said device, and means on the carrier for directing'charges of glass into the mold when the plunger is in raised position.

and is out of axial alignment with the mold.

the plunger, for preventing operation of the firstnamed means to lower the plunger when the plunger is out of said axial ali ent 9. A glass-formingmachine comprising a rotatablecarrier, molds on said carrier, 9. glass I pressingplunger positioned above each mold and movable with the carrier, the plunger being nor- "mally in .axial alignment with the mold, a piston, means for subjecting the opposite sides of thepiston to fluid pressure for lowering and raising the plunger into and from the mold, a recipro- 6. A glass-forming machine comprising a rotatable carrier, molds 'on said carrier, a glass-.

pressing plunger positioned above each mold and movable with'the carrier, devices operable during rotative movement of the table, for lowering and raising the plungers into, and from the molds, means automatically operable upon raising movement of eachplunger for moving it out of axial alignment with'its mold, and means on the carrier, in axially-fixed alignment with each mold and above the adjacent plunger, for directing charges of glass into the molds when their plungers are out of axial alignment therewith.

.7. A glass-forming machine comprising, a rotatable carrier, moldson said carrier, a verticable member plunger is withdrawn from the mold, and means on said member for preventing admission of fluid pressure to the upper side of the piston. when the member is in such position that the out of alignment with the mold,

10; A glass-forming machine comprising a mold, a glass-shaping plunger normally posi-f tioned above the moldand in axial alignment therewith, means for raising and lowering the plunger, a device for shifting the plunger out of axial alignment with the mold, when the plunger I is in raised position, and means controlled byisa'id I device for presenting lowering movement'of the plunger when the, plunger isout of axial align-'5'- ment with the mold. v

a D. BERT.

cally-extending feed tube on thecarrier and disfor moving the plunger into and out of axial alignment with-the mold, when the plunger is 

